


Brothers in Arms

by SnowyMarvel



Series: Brothers in Arms Series [1]
Category: Batfamily - Fandom, Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Batfamily Feels, IDK what I was doing, OC, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-22 23:00:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9629009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowyMarvel/pseuds/SnowyMarvel
Summary: A new gang war bursts out in Gotham City between Red Hood, Black Mask and a new gang leader, Matt Jensen. Jensen and Black Mask seem to have created an alliance to take down Hood and reign as kings on Gotham. But what they don't know is that Hood isn't alone and he can count on his brothers to help him.Along the way, and above all the ordeals, they will prove that once again, family is the best of all assets.*All characters belongs to DC comics, except those I created (obviously).I Hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it :)





	1. Chapter 1 ~ A Bonding Moment

**Author's Note:**

> I've been reading on this website for a while and I've just decided to post my work here. I hope you'll enjoy it. There may be some grammatical and spelling mistakes, please excuse me it's just that English isn't my native language and despite my efforts to erase them from existence, some may resist and remain in my work. 
> 
> I'm not following any particular DC timeline, I just wrote this to have fun and I sincerely hope that you'll like my story ^^ 
> 
> This said, enjoy peeps! 
> 
> Also, I have already posted this story on Wattpad so if you want to go ahead and read it entirely, you can find it there. However, the version posted here will be (hopefully) much better edited and I'll replace the Wattpad version bits by bits.

"There's nothing to do..." Dick thought peered outside the huge window of his bedroom, observing the grey October sky. He sighed deeply, desperately trying to find something to keep himself busy. After a few seconds, an idea popped in his mind. The young man walked out of his room and ambled through the long hallway of the manor until he reached his little brother's bedroom. He knocked softly once and heard a "come in, it's open" coming from inside.

"Hey Timmy," Dick said to the teen while he opened the door. Tim was sitting on his desk chair, focused on his TV screen, his controller in the hand, completely focused on the video game he was playing.

Tim smiled broadly at his big brother when he saw him appearing from behind the door. "Wait a sec Kon, I'll be back," he said as he removed his black and red headphones. "Hey Dick, what's up?" he asked.

"I was wondering, would you be interested in going to the theater after lunch?"

"Of course!" the teen replied, blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Dick knew how his brother was when it came to movies. He simply loved them. "And why suddenly would you want to go to the theater on a Sunday?"

"Because I'm honestly beyond bored," the acrobat answered with a grin, flopping on Tim's bed, "You know that Alfred is going to kill you if he sees that you're still in your pajama at 11 in the morning?" he laughed. Indeed, the old butler was really strict when it came to this kind of things.

"Oh come on, it's Sunday Dickie, Lazy Sunday even," the raven haired young man laughed as he looked at his Superman pajama and added while he pointed to the locked wooden door just in front of his room., "hey why don't you go tell this to the lazy-butt who's still sleeping?"

"He is still asleep?" Dick asked surprised, but he was even more surprised that his second brother had spent the night at the manor.

"Yup"

"Oh..." he whispered, a broad grin spreading on his lips.

"I really don't like this smile" Tim said as he raised an eyebrow, knowing perfectly well that Dick had something evil planned in his mind.

"Do you remember that day when I 'accidentally' poked him?" he replied mischievously.

Tim's eyes shot wide open and he whispered with an apprehensive tone, "Oh my god Dick, you're not gonna do that?!" Dick nodded. "Dude, he's gonna shoot you!"

"Nah, don't worry lil' bro, I'm just going to remind him what it takes not to be awake at such an hour, and you're going to help me."

Tim threw his hands in the air, one of them still holding the controller, "Me? Hell no!"

"You don't have any kind of choice, Timmy."

Tim sighed deeply, knowing that his brother's idea was crazy, but sounded most certainly amusing. The older man jumped on his feet and slowly, noiselessly, walked towards the dark wooden door facing Tim's room. He slowly turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.

Once there he saw Jason's sleeping form, snorting lightly. The man was (for once) sleeping peacefully on his chest, his head pressed into his pillow and one arm hanging out of his bed.

Dick, still smirking widely, gestured towards Tim to come in once he checked again that Jason was sleeping deeply (just to be sure). The teen rolled his eyes but, not without a little grin, joined his brother's side.

"Let's wake him up, shall we?" Dick murmured while he sneaked inside Jason's room. He quickly went to the other side of the large bed, Tim approaching slowly to face his brother. The older man looked at him, his eyes shining with mischief. He raised one hand and started to count with his fingers. Tim, on the other side, was preparing himself to trap Jason's legs. He knew perfectly well his brother wouldn't like this way of waking up at all.

1...

2...

3...

Dick jumped on Jason's bed and immediately started to tickle the man's sides. Jason woke up as soon as his brother landed on him, screaming his lungs out. He struggled to turn around but Tim was holding him firmly, preventing him from moving any muscles in his legs. "FUCK OFF GRAYSON!!" he shouted, but Dick kept on tickling him, guffawing on top of Jason. The latter squirmed even harder, forcing Tim to lose his grip on his legs. The man jumped on the occasion to roll out of his bed and landed on the floor with a loud thud while Dick was still dying of laughter. Jason growled loudly and headshoted his brother with a pillow that had followed him in his fall. He then shot a death glare at Tim.

The latter raised his hands defensively "It was his idea!" he exclaimed, his index pointed at Dick.

"My revenge is gonna be terrible Dickhead, you know that?!" Jason snapped, his tone still a tad sleepy.

"Maybe, but it was totally worth it!" Dick answered as he wiped a small tear away from his eye. Jason shook his head and sighed. He pretended to put back his blanket on his bed, but one second later, he opened his arms widely and jumped on his bed, tackling Tim in his fall as he was standing just beside him before that. Dick, surprised, fell on his back and found himself trapped under his two brothers. They exchanged a conniving glance before they started tickling their big brother.

"S-stop!" the raven haired man yelled, his body shaking uncontrollably because of this torture, "T-Tim you're a t-traitor!!"

The teen winked at Jason and they both tickled their brother even more, causing him to laugh even louder.

"I-I can't b-breathe!!"

"I told you my revenge would be terrible," Jason laughed when he stopped tickling Dick and high-fived Tim proudly.

"I hate you both."

"Aww, don't be so rude, you're gonna make us cry" Tim fake pouted, earning a playful punch from his older brother who was still panting to try and catch his breath again.

Jason sighed deeply and let himself flop on his bed again. It had been a long time since he had stayed at the manor for more than one or two hours. In fact, he decided to stay because, even if he would never admit it out loud, he missed his brothers. Even though he wasn't in very good terms with Bruce, he loved his three brothers. So in order to stay in his old room the previous night, he gave Bruce a fake excuse. A soft knock at his door snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Young Masters," Alfred said and the three brothers turned their heads in his direction.

"'Morning Alf'!" Jason greeted with a large grin.

"Good morning Master Jason, it's a little bit late to finally be awake, don't you think?" the old butler answered with a severe sight, but the three young men clearly noticed the little smile he had on his lips. Out of all the manor's inhabitants, Alfred must have been to happiest to know that Jason was finally (maybe) coming back after all he had been through.

"What is it, Alf'?" Dick asked softly.

"I am afraid that I am not going to be able to prepare today's lunch. Master Bruce needs me to help him at Wayne Enterprises."

"On a Sunday?" Tim frowned and the old butler nodded.

"No problem Alf', I can handle this," Dick replied and Alfred nodded once again.

"Master Jason, it is indeed really nice to see you, but some things never change. It would be really kind to leave your weapons somewhere else than on the floor," he stated as he pointed towards Jason's various weapons which were scattered on the floor, "and please, put on a t-shirt, we don't want you to catch a cold, do we?" The young man scratched the back of his head and simply nodded.

"Where's the little demon?" Tim asked.

"I believe Master Damian is currently training in the Batcave."

"Obviously..."

"Have a nice day young Masters."

"See you Alfred!" the three of them replied evenly while the old butler left Jason's bedroom.

"Get yourselves dressed you lazy-butts," Dick smiled, "we're going out".

Jason raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his bare chest, "So by saying that you can handle it you meant 'I'm gonna take 'em out'?"

"Yup," Dick replied. He playfully punched Jason in the biceps, his smile turning into a grin.

"You're unbelievable, y'know?"

***

Once finally dressed, the three young men headed to the Batcave. They could clearly hear Damian's furious punches against a boxing bag echoing through the large stone hallway and the cave's walls. The young boy was striking with all his strength, punching the boxing bag back and forth. Not far from him was standing his Great Dane, Titus, sleeping peacefully near the batcomputer.

"Hey Dami," Dick's voice boomed out and the young boy looked up to see his three brothers coming near him. He huffed and punched the boxing bag once more. "Take a shower, we're leaving".

"I'm not going anywhere with Drake," He replied flatly, his full attention still on the bag.

"You're such a brat, Demon," the teen growled between his teeth while he clenched his fists furiously. Jason noticed it and immediately put a hand on his brother's shoulder to calm him down. The young boy carelessly gave a shrug and started his strikes again.

"Come on Damian," Jason added with a little smirk, "don't force Dick to beg for you to come with us."

Damian sighed deeply in annoyance and walked toward his locker, patting his dog's head as he passed nearby him, causing the Great Dane to happily wag his tail, "Alright, I'm coming, even though I have better things to do. Give me five minutes".

"I give you three"

"Alright, but I drive."

"Pff, in your dreams, Demon," Tim whispered exasperatedly.

"Tt, nobody has rung you Drake"

"Move Damian!" Jason said coldly as he crossed his arms over his chest. The young boy sighed again and headed toward the batcave's exit, quickly followed by Titus and the three other men.

A good ten minutes later, everyone was in Dick's car, a brand new black Audi S5. "Since when does a little cop like you can afford such a car, Dickhead?" Jason teased with a smirk.

"Shut up, Jay," Dick snapped as he rolled his eyes, causing Tim to giggle lightly.

"Since when can such an idiot like you be allowed to use guns?" Damian asked flatly as he slammed shut the car's door.

"You really wanna play this game, Babybird?" Jason asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh come on..." Tim sighed desperately, "Can't you all, for once, act as if you were all mature?

"Tt. Once again, nobody has rung you, Drake."

"Damian!" Dick sighed as he started to wonder if it really was a good idea to take his three brothers out.

"Go fu-" Tim started but Jason cut him off.

"Alright! Everybody calm the hell down, we don't wanna fight in Dickie's precious car, right?" The oldest of them three rolled his eyes once again. Tim silently looked out of the car's window, a little smirk running across his lips as he thought of how easily he could beat down the boy who was sitting just beside him. Maybe he could even snap the brat's neck, at least it would be quick... but suddenly, he shook his head, erasing this horrible thought from it and wondering how come he could think about something like that. "Can you put on some music?" he finally asked.

Jason, turned a few buttons on the radio before he finally reached the channel he was looking for. The rock'n roll station. The song _Shoot to Thrill_ by AC/DC boomed out of the loudspeakers. "I love that song!" the young man yelled over the loud music.

Damian liked this song too, no he appreciated it, and slightly smiled as he listened to it, but never would he show his affection for this song. Instead, he glanced out of the window, his sight wandering around Gotham's streets which were surprisingly calm for once. But, as he was gazing, he could see the misery which haunted the streets. He saw three homeless person trying to warm their hands by rubbing them just above a little fire they had lit up in an old rusty barrel. He saw an extremely skinny child running away because he had just stolen a piece of bread which was certainly his only food since a long time. Another was sitting near a bus stop, shivering under the cold weather, begging the few passerbies to give him even only one dollar so he could afford to buy something warmer than his torn jacket.

"Where are you taking us, Dick?" Tim asked once the song was over, snapping the young boy out of his thoughts.

"You'll see Timmy," the older man replied, smiling broadly, "we are nearly there."

A few minutes later, Dick parked his car just in front of an Italian Restaurant. "Are you serious Grayson? This has to be the worst restaurant of the whole city!" Damian growled.

"I took Babs here once and it was really great. And if you're not happy Damian, I suggest you stay in the car while Tim, Jay and I are eating," he snapped, irritated by his little brother's behavior. The young boy sighed, but went out of the car and slammed violently its door. 'I swear I'm gonna kill him one day,' Tim thought as he let out a sigh as well.

Suddenly, as they were all about to get inside the restaurant, Jason's phone started to ring. Dick shot a glance at him, knowing that something was up. "Just get inside already, I'll join you in a minutes". His older brother nodded and pushed the door open, followed by the two others. Jason took his phone out of his pocket. "Shit..." he whispered as he saw that it was a masked number. He picked it up with a bit of anxiousness.

"Yes?" he said coldly.

"Boss! Black Mask's henchmen are attacking us once again at the docks! We need you, we can't hold 'em back without you, there's too much of 'em!" boomed a totally panicked voice.

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to throw this damn phone away. He looked inside the restaurant and saw his three brothers sitting at a table just near a window. Tim and Dick were laughing together while Damian was looking emotionlessly at the menu. The man sighed deeply and clenched one fist.

"I'm on my way..."


	2. Chapter 2 ~ The Warehouse's Attack

Red Hood stood on top of a tall building, observing the docks a hundred meters away from his position. He saw Black Mask's men fighting his own henchmen, those fighting back bravely. Shootings could be heard from far away and Red Hood saw some civilians running away from the docks, completely frightened and panicked. 

The man let out an angry sigh and grappled his way through Gotham's buildings, swinging noiselessly until he finally reached the docks. Once there, he landed with a thud in the middle of the conflict and immediately opened fire on the enemies. He headshoted one of the thugs between the eyes. Another thug charged at Red Hood, but he swiftly jumped in the air and landed on the man's back, knocking him out with one single powerful blow behind the head. As he jumped back on his feet, Red Hood was catapulted into a nearby pile of crates. He landed harshly on the floor, some of the crates exploding under the impact.

The man grunted as he rose back on his feet. He felt an intense pain in his right arm and on his side. Blood was dripping down his gauntlet. He looked at his arm. A large piece of wood had pierced his biceps and blood was flowing out of the wound. "Shit," he growled as he tried to take it out, but it was too deeply plunged into his flesh... Suddenly, he saw a huge shadow charging in his direction. Without realizing what was happening to him, he was projected in the air again. By pure reflex, he pulled out his grappling gun and shot it into what he would use as a shelter.

He landed on his feet and saw his opponent in front of him. The man was huge, bulk and immediately reminded Jason of Bane. 

"I'm gonna smash ya!" the brute yelled and immediately charged again in Red Hood's direction. The helmeted man jumped away and landed behind the monster-like man. He tried to punch him with all the strength he had but the man blocked his fist. Reacting immediately, he threw a right uppercut to the man's jaw, clenching his teeth under his helmet as a jolt of pain erupted from his wound. The brute spat blood on the floor and smirked, "the boss told us that we could do whatever we want with ya as long as we erase ya from this world".

Jason snorted. "Your boss is underestimating me. _Never_ underestimate me," Red Hood replied coldly. He raced towards the beast-like man and threw another punch in his jaw, the bone cracking loudly under the impact. The thug grunted as he held his jaw, and shot a pissed off look at his opponent. He charged once again, slammed Red Hood on the floor and started to punch him. Hood kicked the monster in the ribs. He tried to reach for one of his guns but the man above him pinned his wrists on the floor.

"What're ya gonna do now uh?" the man mocked.

"As I said, _never_ underestimate me." Red Hood replied as he flicked his left wrist and a taser came out of his leather jacket's sleeve. He turned it on and pinned it directly in the man's face. The man held his head as the electric pulse ran through it, but it was of no use as Red Hood took advantage of this moment to draw his handguns out and shot the man right in the forehead, a pool of blood splashing on Red Hood. Jason winced at it but was quick brought back to reality when a jolt of pain ran through his arm again. He moved the man off of him and stood back up on his feet, his right arm killing him and sighed. The battle wasn't won for the moment as his men were still struggling against Black Mask's. He shot two other henchmen and threw a mini bomb in another group's direction. The explosion killed five more of them. 

As he was knocking out another thug, Red Hood saw from the corner of his eye that two others were about to kill one of his own henchmen. He rushed in their directions, flicked his left wrist to take out the taser from his sleeve once more. Jumping on their backs, he electrocuted to death the two thugs who fell cold to the floor.

The henchman turned around and saw the corpses and Red Hood standing on top of them. "Thanks boss, didn't heard 'em comin'" he said, a shocked look on his face. The helmeted man replied with a curt nod and saw that some of his men were now forming a circle around him, fighting back to back against the enemy.

"What're we gonna do boss? They're much more than last time!" one quavered while he knocked out two men by banging their heads against each other.

"I know! But it's essential to protect this warehouse!" he yelled back, irritated. 

"You okay boss? Your arm's bleedin'!" another said with a concerned tone. Red Hood looked at his arm. Dark red blood was still dripping from his upper arm down his gauntlet and a large stain was now covering all the right side of his brown leather jacket. Jason gasped under his helmet.

"That's not what matters for now" he answered, ignoring the pain coming from his limb, "what matters is this warehouse so keep fighting!" his men all smirked and went back into battle.

But suddenly, coming out of nowhere, Red Hood saw a grayish streak splitting the clouds in two. However, when he realized what it was, it was already  _way_ too late...

***

"Jason, I swear that if you don't call me back, I will personally take care of you!" Dick declared coldly to Jason's voicemail. He left a fifth message and hurled his phone away on the table. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked out of the restaurant's window, his fists clenched tightly. 

"What were you expecting, seriously?" Tim asked nonchalantly as he took a sip of his soda.

Dick sighed and ran a hand through his long raven hair. "I don't know". In fact, the man really hoped that one day his family could become super close. He was really happy that Jason was finally trying to make an effort to come back, even though he still had issues with Bruce, but he also had had some issues to accept Tim as he saw the kid as a replacement of himself to Bruce's eyes. But slowly, he finally accepted him. However, Tim and Damian's relationship still needed improvements. It nearly was a miracle if they both stayed in the same room for more than ten minutes without jumping at each other's throat... "I was just hoping that, for once, the four of us could share a little moment, but apparently it was too much to ask..." he replied angrily, "but at least you two are here," he added with a small smile and both Tim and Damian looked at him with a surprised look on their faces.

"I'm not going to hug you if that's what you are waiting for, Grayson," Damian said with a cold voice as he bit in his pizza.

Tim jabbed him in the ribs, "you really had to ruin this, didn't you?" he spat angrily.

"I can ruin something else if you want, Drake," the young boy snapped back arrogantly.

"You two are unbelievable , you know that?" Dick sighed. Suddenly, Dick's phone started to ring. He swiftly grabbed it and saw that it was Barbara who was calling him. He picked up, even though he was slightly  disappointed it wasn't Jason. "Hey Babs, what's up ?" he began cheerfully "it's been a lo-"

"No time, Dick! A gang war is happening at the docks right now and it's pretty violent."

Dick's eyes flew open. "Is Red Hood there?" he questioned in a low voice to avoid any unwanted ears to hear what he was saying.

"Hold on... yeah I can see him. He is surrounded by Black Mask's henchmen and Dick, he seems to be badly injured..." The man pinched to bridge of his nose briefly. In front of him, Tim and Damian were looking at him confusedly. 

"I'm on my way, give me less than ten minutes and I'll be there," the older man said and he hung up, shoving his phone inside his jean's pocket. 

"What's happening?" Tim asked while Dick paid the bill and overtiped the waitress like he always did and the three of them walked out of the restaurant to get back inside their brother's Audi.

"The docks are under attack and Jason needs back-up," he replied while he turned on the car, the engine waking up in a loud roar. 

"Oh my god..." Tim whispered as he stared blankly at the sky, his eyes wide open. There, he saw a grey streak rushing straight towards the docks' direction. Half a second later, the rocket hit its destination and exploded in a thunderous explosion. A massive black cloud billowed out from the docks, hiding the whole area around it with its density. 

"No no no no!" Dick yelled as he frantically reached for his phone in his pocket. He called Barbara once again. "Anything on Red Hood?!" he asked, completely panicked, his voice shaking. 

"I'm looking for him with every cameras but they are all out!". No. Jason wasn't dead, he couldn't be, not like that... "Wait! I just got the image from a camera placed on the other side of the docks! And I can see something moving." An oppressing silence weighted in the car and the three brothers in it, all eagerly waiting for Barbara to talk again. 

"Dick it's him! He is alive!"

***

"Fuck," Red Hood groaned out behind his now broken helmet. He pulled off of him a large piece of concrete and closed his eyes. He could feel his entire body screaming in pain but he couldn't feel his right arm anymore. He tried to clench his fist to see if it wasn't too damaged but grimaced when another wave of pain ran through all his body. 

His armor was probably the only reason he was still alive at that moment. He gasped as he roughly tried to get up. He observed his surroundings silently, standing on a large block of concrete, his right arm hanging limply on his side.  

The smoke was hardly beginning to vanish. Some of the buildings close to the docks had collapsed and he was surrounded by a real carnage. All of his and Black Mask's men were dead. His warehouse was completely destroyed and flames were raging out of the ruins. 

He was about to leave to avoid any confrontations with the GCPD when he saw something moving from the corner of his eyes. He approached and saw that it was one of Black Mask's men who was lying on the floor. He crouched next to him and looked at the man who seemed beyond terrified. The masked man drew a pistol out of his coat and pointed it at Red Hood's helmet. "Come on man, shoot me," Hood spat, a smirk running on his lips under his helmet, "What are you waiting for?" 

The other man shivered. He was frightened by the imposing man who was standing just beside him. He tried to speak but no words came out of his mouth, as if he was paralyzed with fear. 

After a little instant, Red Hood lost his patience and violently smacked the gun away from the man's hands. He then tore the thug's mask away. The man looked really young, probably not even in his twenties, had big bright eyes which were filled with fear. ' _Just another one of those desperate kids_ ' Jason thought. 

He grabbed the young man by the collar of his shirt and said with a menacing tone "I'm sparing you, but go tell your boss that if it's a war that he wants, he just obtained it!" The young man nodded frantically and Red Hood rose on his feet, holding his painful ribs with his left arm and limped away. 

"How did you know that I wasn't gonna shoot you?" the young man dared to ask with a trembling voice, still lying on the floor. Under his helmet, Jason smirked widely.

"You forgot to pull off the gun's safety, kid," he replied. He then threw a smoke bomb out of his utility belt and disappeared behind a cloud of thick grey smoke. The young man blinked and wondered what the hell happened to him. 

He slowly got up and started to run away when he heard the sirens coming closer to his position.  

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3 ~ Act of War

"Red Robin, you take the left side of the docks, I take the right side" Dick said with a panicked tone which he was failing to hide. As he was putting his black domino mask on, Tim's hand stopped him.

"Dick! Knowing Jason he must already be far from the docks now!" the young man nearly yelled, looking at his brother straight in the eyes. Ever since Dick got Barbara's call, he was completely panicked even though she had assured him that his brother was alive. He had rushed with his car through Gotham's street, almost hitting two people at top speed and running all the red lights.

"As much as I hate to say that, I agree with Drake," Damian added while he spinned on a desk chair right near the batcomputer, Titus standing just next to him. Dick and Tim both turned their heads towards the young boy with a surprised look on their faces. He simply shrugged and scratched his dog's head. The massive animal wagged his tail happily.

"So what do you both suggest then?" Dick snapped. He folded his arms over his chest and glared at Tim and Damian. "I'm sure as hell this idiot is bleeding out in the streets right now."

"I am sure that Master Jason is reasonable enough to know that if he needs medical assistance he just has to come here, even if he wishes to leave right after," a voice echoed from upstairs. Alfred showed up a few seconds later, Bruce by his side. The latter was still wearing a black three-piece black suit with a white shirt and the red tie Dick had offered him the previous Christmas. 

"Tim and I were about to go in town to look for him Alf'. I know he is alive but Oracle told us he is severely injured..." Alfred gently put both his hands on Dick's shoulders and offered him a reassuring smile.

"I am sure he is okay Master Dick, and if he needs help, I will take care of him, don't worry." Dick nodded slowly and closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. What if Jason faints because of the severe loss of blood ? What if he loses his brother again?

"I may need some stitches indeed," a weak voice suddenly barged in from upstairs. Jason emerged out of the darkness, holding his injured right arm near his chest and taking small steps. He staggered a few more meters before he lost consciousness and fell on the ground. Dick and Tim rushed in his direction while Bruce and Alfred were getting the surgery table ready. The two young men held their brother tightly and gently laid him on the table.

"Dick, Tim, Damian, go upstairs," Bruce said firmly. Without discussing, the three young men headed back to Bruce's study room without a word exchanged between the three of them. Damian went into his room while Dick and Tim went into the living room.

One hour and a half later, Alfred and Bruce came back from the cave. Dick, who had been nervously chewing the inside of his cheeks jumped on his feet and immediately walked towards them. "How is he?" Alfred gently put his hand on the young man's shoulder and reassuringly said that his brother was okay. Dick sighed with relief and asked if he could see him. 

"Of course, but he is still asleep. Try not to wake him up." Alfred replied calmly and Dick nodded. Followed by Tim, he walked towards the study room and down the cave's stairs. Jason was asleep on a small hospital bed. His whole right arm was bandaged, as well as his upper chest. Indeed, during the explosion, some shrapnel had pierced through his Kevlar armor and had pierced his chest. Fortunately, most damages had been absorbed by the Kevlar anyway. The two young men approached slowly near the bed and, even if he was under the painkillers' effect, Jason was frowning in his sleep.

"Do you think he is having a nightmare?" Tim murmured as he peered at his older brother. However, a few seconds later, Jason's face relaxed and he opened his eyes slowly. He gasped when he tried to move his right arm. He closed his eyes and tried to forget the achy pain emanating from his limb. He sighed, opened his eyes again and tried to sit in the bed but was stopped by a rather strong hand. 

"Hey don't move Jay, we don't want you to open your stitches right?" Dick said softly. Jason turned his head in his brothers' direction and sighed again.

"Those painkillers aren't really effective..." he grunted but then he looked at his big brother and saw that he was frowning, "I know you're mad at me Dick but I had to go." 

Dick shook his head. "Of course I am!" he nearly yelled "You left without telling us where you were going Jason! And you could have called for back-up dammit!"

"My men can't see you around me, Dick. I promised them protection over the Batman and all of his allies, which means all of you." Dick huffed and shook his head. But soon, a little smirked ran on Jason's lips "Beside, I was doing pretty well. So well that Black Mask had to launch a rocket," he smirked. 

"That's not funny," Dick said coldly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You could have been killed,  _again_ ". Hearing this, Tim jabbed his brother in the ribs and threw him a death glare. Jason's smile faded slowly as what happened earlier played again in his head.

"I've lost a lot of my men today, as well as one of the most important warehouses I had," he said with a sudden serious tone. He tried to sit in the bed again but Tim pushed him back against the mattress. 

"You need to rest, Alfred's order" the teen declared firmly. 

"But I need to -"

"No one discusses Alfred's order."

Jason rolled his eyes and laid his head back on his pillow, "I have some business to deal with. It was an act of war that Black Mask just declared."

"So there's gonna be another gang war then?" Dick asked while he took a chair and put it near the bed, quickly imitated by Tim. They both sat on their chair exactly at the same time and it usually would have made Jason smile but he was too 

"I don't have a choice, he needs to pay for what he did," Jason replied, his eyebrows furrows and a stern expression on his face. 

"There's no other solutions than to kill him?" Dick replied as he quirked an eyebrow.

"Black Mask is the worst piece of shit in the whole city!" Jason snapped.

"Watch your language Master Jason," a voice from upstairs said. Alfred appeared next to the three men a little instant later, holding a tray with three cups of tea on it. He gave one to each of them.

"Earl Grey?" Jason asked as he took a sip of his cup. Alfred nodded slightly and the young man added cheerfully, "Oh you know me too well Alf'. How long will I have to stay here by the way?"

"You need to rest your arm for at least two weeks."

Jason nearly choked on his tea. "Two weeks? Impossible!" he coughed, "I need to-"

"This is not negotiable," the old butler replied firmly. Jason sighed and nodded. "I suggest you get back into your own room, it will be more comfortable. Moreover, Dinner will be ready at 8 o'clock, as you know it."

"Yeah, some things never change" Jason smiled. However, in his head, he was already trying to come up with a plan on how to take down Black Mask...


	4. Chapter 4 ~ Dinner

A chair flew through the room before it crashed into the opposite wall, exploding into large shrapnel of wood. "HE IS NOT DEAD?! HOW THE HELL IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!"

"He survived the explosion, sir..."

Black Mask yelled once again and smashed his hands against his wooden desk, leaving a clear trace of his fist on the material. He approached near the terrified young man and held his chin tightly "my order was simple, right? I said to kill him in _any way_ you wanted, right?" the young man nodded frantically. "SO WHY IS HE STILL ALIVE?!"

"I don't know, sir," the young man mumbled inaudibly. He could feel his hands shaking and tried his best to keep his sight low. He hunched his shoulders, waiting for the furious man standing only a few centimeters away from his face to speak again. However, a violent fist met his jaw. The strength of the impact made him fall on the floor.  

 

Black Mask readjusted his tie and sighed deeply. He crouched next to the young man. With a surprisingly yet terrifying calm voice, the crime lord asked "You're the only one who survived, am I right?"

"Yes, sir," The young man rubbed his jaw. The crime lord clenched his fists, resisting the urge to punch him again. No, he was not going to hurt him, not yet. He had plans for him. He grabbed the young man's chin again and squeezed it as hard as he could.

"I want you to infiltrate his ranks, I want you to become his closest ally and then, when he will trust you with all his life, I will take care of him. I want you to tell me _everything_ about this bastard, even what he had for lunch. Is that clear enough?!"

The man, flabbergasted, opened his mouth but no words came out of it. He noticed Black Mask shaking with anger above him and gave him a frantic nod, clenching his eyes shut. The crime lord smirked and patted the young man's shoulder. "Good. Now GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND ON YOU!" The young man jumped on his feet and ran out of the room.

Once in the elevator, he sighed and ran a hand in his hair when he was finally able to realize what he had to do. "Holy shit..."

***

At exactly 8 o'clock, everybody was waiting in the dining room of the manor. Dick and Damian were sitting beside each other, Jason and Tim were sat opposite of them and Bruce was at the end of the table.

"Master Damian, take off your earphones please," Alfred ordered the young boy firmly. Damian grunted but did as he was told. "I would like to stop telling you to do so at every dinner. It would be great if you could listen for once." Damian grimaced but said nothing. 

"Why don't you eat with us for once Alf'?" Dick grinned. The old butler smiled back and brought the dishes at the table before he took a sit at Bruce's opposite.

"The whole family reunited, isn't that cute?" Jason muttered under his breath but Tim jabbed him in the ribs. "Ouch," the young man protested but his younger brother shot him a death glare.

"Have you finished your essay for tomorrow Tim?" Bruce asked as he cut himself a piece of bread and handed another to Damian.

"Yup, it wasn't that hard."

"What was it about?" Dick asked.

"The subconscious," the teen replied as he took a fork of his chicken.

"You do this in Psychology?" Jason asked as he quirked an eyebrow.

"No, in Philosophy."

"And you Damian, have you finished your homework?" Bruce asked his son.

"I finished them during class. It took me five minutes to finish what we were doing in Math while it took thirty to the others," the boy replied nonchalantly and Dick laughed lightly.

"Are we going to patrol tonight?" Tim asked Bruce.

"You and I yes, Damian you stay here. Dick, do you want to join us?"

"No, I have to get back to Blüdhaven right after diner. I have something to do tonight."

"Something to do or someone to see?" Jason asked with a smirk. Dick looked at him and cleared his throat, his cheeks turning into a bright pink color. 

"That's none of your business, Jay," the young man replied with a grin, causing Jason to chuckle.

"Why do I have to stay here Father?!" Damian suddenly erupted, "I'm more capable than Drake to patrol."

"It's not negotiable. Besides, Jason will stay with you."

"I don't need a sitter," the young boy snapped.

"And I'm not a _baby_ -sitter" Jason added. Damian threw a death glare at his older brother while Dick sighed.

"Fath-" Damian started but Bruce cut him off with a single gesture of hand. The young boy growled with anger and he slammed his fist on the table.

"What are you going to do with this Black Mask, Master Jason?" Alfred asked to change the subject.

"I'm gonna kill him, simple as that," Jason replied flatly as he took a sip out of the glass of water which was standing on the table. Bruce gave him a hard look but Jason chose to ignore him.

"I disapprove your methods Jason."

"I didn't ask you to approve them though."

"I didn't raise you-"

"He deals to kids, Bruce. Just for this he deserves to die," Jason snapped with a sudden angry tone in his voice. From the other side of the table, Alfred cleared his throat and a heavy silence full of tension fell in the room. Tim shifted uncomfortably on his chair. Jason was right, dealing to kids was monstrous... The teen knew that his older brother wasn't a bad guy, he was doing good things but with bad methods...

"Well," Dick said as he clasped his hands after a few minutes which seemed like hours, "Has anyone investigated on the Poison Ivy case?"

"She escaped again?" Jason asked taking a spoonful of the soup Alfred had prepared just for him because he knew that the young man wouldn't be able to move his right arm.

"Yes," Tim replied, "I worked on her case, but I didn't find anything concrete thought, only useless clues."

"She's trying to poison the whole world again?" Jason laughed.

"She can be as dangerous as Scarecrow, Jay..." Dick said with a sigh.

Jason rolled his eyes. "I know, thank you." 

"Tim, are you done?" Bruce asked as he stood up, ignoring completely Dick and Jason.

"Yup," Tim replied cheerfully as he jumped out of his chair and walked to the study room. Because he was done too, Dick took his vest and put it on his shoulders,  ready to get back to Blüdhaven. Damian went back into his room, stomping his way up the stairs, followed by a happy Titus.

' _This dog is always happy,_ ' Jason thought with a smile on his lips while he followed Dick outside the manor. "When will you come back?" the young man asked his older brother while the latter climbed in his Audi. 

"I don't know yet Jay, but I hope to be here on Friday at the latest," Dick replied with a bright smile and Jason nodded slightly, "take care of them, Jay, they need you more than you think." And with this, he closed his car's door and left.

"Take care of you too Dick," Jason murmured before he came back into the manor and closed the massive wooden door behind him. He was about to go in his room when he saw that Alfred was clearing the table on his own in the dining room. The young man walked into the room and took as many plates as he could with only his left arm.

"Leave this here, Master Jason, I got it," the old butler said softly while he took a glass of water in his hand.

"Don't worry Alf', I may be injured but I can still help," Jason smiled. He walked into the kitchen and left the plates next to the dishwasher. He then put all the dishes in it, struggling a bit with his left arm. 

"It's good to have you here again, Jason," Alfred said as he placed a hand on Jason's shoulder, "The manor is not the same without you, it never was."

 

 


	5. Chapter 5 ~ Life Hangs On A Thread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters for today because I wasn't able to update at all this weekend *screams* I hope you'll like this one ^^

"Batman, Red Robin, a robbery with hostages has been signaled on Columbia Street," Oracle's voice suddenly erupted in the com link.

"On it," Red Robin replied standing up from the rooftop he and Batman were standing on. It had been a surprisingly calm night that day and, excited that something was finally happening, Red Robin hopped down from rooftops to rooftops until he reached the Batmobile, parked in the darkness not far from where both heroes were. The Dark Knight joined him a few seconds later and drove until they arrived in Columbia Street. After they had established a plan, they split up in silence.

Red Robin climbed on top of the building which was just in front of the bank where the robbery was taking place at the same time. He took his binoculars out of one of his many pockets in his utility belt and started to scan the inside of the building. He saw five robbers armed to the teeth inside the bank. He also counted eleven terrified hostages. The teen frowned with anger when he saw  a small child who looked not older than five or six years old sobbing next to her mother while she was trying her best to reassure her.

"Batman, there are five robbers plus eleven hostages, one of them being a child. The robbers are heavily armed," Red Robin said with a low voice.

"Copy that," the hoarse modified voice replied. "I'm about to enter in the building."

"I'm following you," the teen replied while he put his binoculars back in his utility belt. He stood up and silently climbed down the building. He thought for a little instant then grappled his way up to the bank's rooftop. Once there, he walked to the building's ventilation system and jumped inside of it. He landed with a thud in the ventilation channels and cursed under his breath for this. Then, he turned on the little computer which was inside his gauntlet and studied the best way to get to the first floor by the ventilation channels.

***

"Take off all your precious little jewels and all your money out of your wallets and gently put everything inside the bag if you don't want a bullet inside your stupid skull!" one of the hooded robbers said darkly and with a sadistic grin as he shot the ceiling with his assault rifle. Panicked, the hostages did as they were told, not without trembling when the thugs were walking past them. One of the robbers who was standing guard informed the others about the GCPD's arrival and gathering in front of the bank. 

"Don't' worry, I already have an escape plan," the one who seemed to be the boss responded confidently. He walked all around the bank and smiled with one of those creepy smiles that make you thrill with terror when he saw the little girl curled up against her mother, trying to hide herself inside her large coat. The man grasped her roughly by the arm and held her in front of him. She immediately cried for her mother when he took her away. "Calm down, sweetheart," the man murmured with a sadistic grin as he took a gun out of one of his holsters and pointed it towards the little girl's mother. Then he raised his voice and declared, "if anyone tries to stop us, I kill the little princess over here." He rubbed the barrel of his gun just under the child's jaw. Terrified, the poor little girl cried even louder and the man pressed the barrel even more against her skin.

"Release the girl!" a menacing voice ordered from above the room. The robbers' boss jumped a bit in surprise but immediately cackled. 

"What do we have here?" he said with a large grin as he tightened his grip around the child. "Show yourself, coward!"

"As you wish," the voice said and half a second later, the Dark Knight was standing in the middle of the room. With an even colder voice, he ordered, "Release the girl, this is your last chance".

All the thugs drew their pistols out of their holsters and pointed them at Batman. Their boss barked in laughter and looked at the little girl who was trapped in his arms "She's beautiful don't you think? Would be a shame if her brain was spilled everywhere, uh?"

"RELEASE MY DAUGHTER!" the girl's mother yelled in a burst of fear while she rose on her feet and ran in her daughter's direction but was stopped by one of the thugs who held her tightly against him. The robbers' boss pointed his gun in her direction.

"Listen Batman," he started with a dark tone, "If you let us go, no one will be harmed. So I suggest you close your eyes for ten seconds and we won't be here anymore, alright?" Batman snorted and an indistinguishable smirk spread across his lips as he heard a small noise just above him in the ventilation channels.

"Red Robin, now!" he shouted and suddenly, the whole room was engulfed in a thick grey cloud of smoke. At the same moment, Red Robin jumped out of the ventilation channel and knocked down one thug with his bo staff. On the other side of the room, the boss had panicked and he was carrying away the little girl with him as he tried to escape the bank. Batman was about to hunt him down but one of the thugs gave him a hard knock on the knee with his foot. The Dark Knight fell roughly on the floor and grunted. The thug held his fist in the air to punch him in the face but a birdarang flew right at him, glued itself on the man's shirt and then electrified him. The man fell unconscious on the floor and Batman quickly cuffed him before he went back into action.

On his side, Red Robin was surrounded by the three last thugs. One of them threw himself on the teen but the teen slapped his left hand right on the man's face, shattering his nose and knocking him out by the same occasion. The two other thugs pointed their guns at the teen, ready to shoot him. But Red Robin turned and with a fast spin of his bo staff, knocked both of the men down.

He snorted and joined Batman's side as the man was standing menacingly just in front of the robbers' boss. He was still holding the little girl tightly and was still pointing a gun just under her chin. The child seemed to be petrified, her skin as pale as a sheet.

' _If Jason was here, the bastard would already be dead_...' Tim thought as he frowned at the man in front of him. "Release the girl now!' Red Robin said threateningly as he tightened his grip around his stick.

In a desperate need to find a distraction, the man panicked and pointed his gun towards the girl's mother. He pulled the trigger and before anyone could react, the bullet lodged itself in the woman's chest. 

Batman and Red Robin both looked with horror at the woman who fell on the floor and the thug took advantage of the moment to run away from the room and exited the bank by the fire exit in the back of the building.

"MOMMY!" the little girl yelled as she ran in her mother's direction, quickly followed by Batman and Red Robin. She crouched next to her mother and she weakly took her daughter's hand.

"I'm sorry sweetheart..." she murmured weakly and with a trembling voice as she brushed her daughter's cheek. Next to her, Red Robin was doing his best to stop the hemorrhage, but it was useless. The bullet had reached the woman's heart and nothing could be done to save her and a few seconds later, she gave out her last breath.

"I'm going to find him" Batman said behind Red Robin with a firm voice "take care of her" he added as he gestured to the little girl who was crying and holding her mother's hand, trying to shake her to wake her up. After this, he left the building and searched during the whole night for the murderer, but he couldn't find him. Even with all his technology and Oracle's help. The man seemed to have evaporated...

Red Robin approached near the little girl and with a soft voice asked her to follow him. She scowled at him angrily. He hated what he did after, but he knew he had to do it. He took the girl by the waist and carried her out of the bank to take her away from the horrible sight that was just under her eyes. She cried loudly and struggled to get rid of this young man who was separating her from her mother.

One minute later, they were both outside. There, were standing some policemen and a few ambulances. The hostages were already all out and people were taking care of them. Just behind a police car, Red Robin saw the commissioner Gordon speaking to a policeman and he headed in his direction, the girl still stuck in his arms. "Drop me!" she yelled.

"Her... mother is dead" Red Robin said to Gordon with a sorrowful tone even though the teen was trying his best to have an as neutral face as possible, but at this moment he couldn't. He felt powerless. The little girl had stopped struggling and was now surprisingly holding tightly against Red Robin's suit, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was sobbing and shaking really hard in his arms.

"I will take care of her" Gordon said with a soft voice. He opened his arms to take the girl but she tightened her grip around Red Robin. glanced at Gordon with a desperate look under his domino mask, but he could understand her. So he walked around the police car and sat inside with the little girl on his lap. He shut the car's door to isolate them from any noise which was coming from the outside. 

"Hey listen, kid, Commissioner Gordon is a good guy, he will take good care of you, I promise," he said reassuringly as he looked at the little girl who was curled up in his long black cape.

"Please, don't leave me" she sobbed weakly "I have no one left"

"What do you mean? You still have your dad no?" he asked gently.

"He's dead." Tim closed his eyes, trying to stay strong in front of the girl. This whole scene, this whole night reminded him of his parents, both dead as well. But in his sorrow, Tim had found another family, he wasn't on his own.

"You don't have any family left?"

"No." Tim shifted uncomfortably on the car's seat. The girl was all alone and he felt even more powerless

"What's your name kid?" he asked softly

"Alice Jacobs" she said as she looked at him straight in the eyes. Her eyes were red and puffy but she had stopped crying and was instead sobbing in a lighter way "please, don't leave me alone..." she repeated with a pleading voice that broke Tim's heart even more. He wrapped his arms protectively around the little girl and covered her body with his black cape when he saw that she was still shaking.

"I-I really want to help you Alice, but I can't do much" he said with a sorry tone.

"But I don't wanna go to the orphanage. I-I want my mommy back" she replied and she burst in tears again.

"Listen," he told her, "I can promise you that I will visit you very often, alright? And I will always be there for you, okey dokey?"

"Can't I stay with you?"

"I have a dangerous life kid and I won't be able to take care of you correctly."

"I understand... but can you promise me one thing?"

"Sure"

"Find the man who did this to my mommy please". Tim was a bit taken by surprise by how directly the seven-year-old had asked him this but he nodded.

"I promise you, Alice, I'll find this monster," he said firmly. The little girl put her head against the teen's chest and closed her eyes for a little moment, still holding his cape tightly.

"Do you have a family?" she asked a few minutes later "I mean, can superheroes have a family?" Tim laughed softly.

"Yes, I do have a family" he answered with a small grin. The little girl opened her eyes wide, she looked surprised.

"And do you have siblings?"

"I have three brothers indeed"

"No sisters?"

"Kinda, but not really... It's complicated."

"Aww, that's sad." Red Robin giggled lightly. Outside, he saw that some men were carrying a large black bag and they put it gently inside one of the ambulances. Suddenly, a soft knock was heard against the car's window and Commissioner Gordon opened the door just after.

"I'll have to take her to the police station, a social worker is coming for her." Alice looked at Red Robin, her green eyes filled with fright.

"They will take good care of you, Alice, I promise you" he tried to reassure her again and she gave a small nod. The little girl slid from Red Robin's lap to sit on the other seat. But, as he was about to leave the car, she hugged him with all the strength she had in her small arms and whispered in his ear "don't forget me."

"I won't" he murmured and hugged her back before he exited the police car. He waved her goodbye and left the place right away, he couldn't hold it anymore. He grappled his way up to a building's rooftop, threw his domino mask away and put his head on his knees as he was sat against a wall. As he closed his eyes, he saw both of his parents dead. He started to shake violently and his breathing shortened. He tried to brush those horrible pictures out of his head but as he did this, he saw once again Alice's mom being shot all over again. He needed help and he knew it. He took his phone out of one of his utility belt's pouches and called someone he knew that even though it was four in the morning would answer.

"Ugh what?" a sleepy and grumpy voice said.

"I-I need you..." Tim replied with a trembling voice and a sob.

There was a little pause "Where are you?" the voice asked with a concerned tone.

"Columbia Street, a building not far from a bank where a robbery happened."

"Don't move, I'm on my way."

"Thank you, Jason..."  

 

 


	6. Chapter 6 ~ Discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry I haven't posted a chapter for a while but between college and writing my other story, it's becoming a bit complicated to keep up and edit this one completely :( 
> 
> But anyway, here it is :D

"Where are you going Master Jason?" Alfred asked with an unusually half asleep voice. The old butler was still sleeping when he had suddenly heard noises coming from Jason's bedroom. He got up and walked towards the room and saw that Jason was dressing himself up to leave and that he had also packed a grey duffel bag with casual clothes inside of it.

"Tim called me Alf', he needs help," Jason declared firmly, a sleepy note still present in his tone.

"What happened? Is he alright?"

"I don't know, Alf'. He had a panicked voice and asked for help. He is on Columbia Street and I don't know how I'm gonna drive with my right arm being immobilized though..."

"I will drive you there Master Jason."

Jason gave a nod, "You're the best Alf'."

Five minutes later, Alfred and Jason were inside Bruce's car and a heavy silence engulfed them, but they were both hoping Tim was okay. It took them ten other minutes to finally reach Columbia Street.

"I'll leave you there if that's okay for you, Master Jason. Call me if you need anything, alright?" Alfred declared while he parked the large car and let Jason hop out of it. The young man thanked him again and sighed as he asked himself how he was going to climb on top of the building with his injured arm.

***

Tim was still sat against the building's wall, shaking and sobbing violently. He was curled up, his head resting on his knees, his eyes closed and his fists clenched around his bo staff. He felt that his chest could explode at any moment under how painful it was. He was still asking himself why he had called for help, especially why he had called _Jason_ for help. The man had never been there for him before and he had even tried to kill him a long time ago... But at this moment, Tim didn't care.

In one of his pouches, Tim felt his phone vibrating. He raked his hands in his hair, took it out and saw Jason's name on the screen. "Yeas?" he said with a trembling voice even though he tried his best to hide it.

"Tim I, uh, kinda have a problem right now. The building is pretty tall and I can't really climb all the way up to the rooftops because of my arm so it would be nice if you could just join me. I'm in an alley just behind the building. Oh and move your ass, I _really_ need a coffee."

Tim sighed. "I'm coming". He slowly but carefully got back on his feet and picked up his black domino mask which he had hurled away when he arrived on top of the building and started to search for Jason. He spotted him in a dark corner, leaning against a wall, a duffel bag at his feet. He was wearing a black t-shirt, black boots and a jean with an old brown leather jacket as the one he had before was stained with his own blood and ripped nearly everywhere because of the attack at the warehouse.

He yawned and Tim saw that he was really fighting with his own will to stay awake. "What happened?" Jason asked with a concerned tone, glancing at his younger brother. The teen was glad he didn't ask him how he felt, even though it was pretty much obvious...

"What's in your bag?" Tim asked back, not answering Jason's question.

"Some clothes for you. I seriously need a coffee right now so change yourself," Jason replied flatly. Without questioning him, he grabbed the bag. He slipped into a red hoodie which was way too large for him and a black jean that he put on top of his suit. Then, he put inside the bag his bo staff, his domino mask and his yellow utility belt as he knew he wouldn't need them anymore that night. Once done, he tossed the bag over his shoulder and joined Jason's side again.

A few minutes later, the two young men entered inside a fast-food which was opened 24/7. A few men and women were already there, taking their breakfast before going to work. Some old rock music could be heard out of the loudspeakers. The two men took a seat at a small table near a corner and it quickly became a bit awkward because no words were exchanged between them during some long minutes.

Fortunately for them, a waitress showed up at their table and asked them what they wanted to drink. Jason ordered a large cup of coffee while Tim asked for a large cup of black coffee and once she left them, Jason looked at his brother and asked with a serious and concerned tone, "What happened Tim?"

The young man suddenly shifted uncomfortably on his seat. ' _I'm sure he thinks I'm weak_ ' he thought, but as if he had read in his thought, Jason declared "I won't judge you if that's what you fear, we all have our moments of weakness," with a surprisingly soft voice. Slightly taken aback, Tim looked at his brother right in the eyes.

"I-I..." he mumbled, but nothing else came out if his mouth. It was as if everything was stuck inside of him, screaming to be freed but was still held back. The young man put his head in his hands and clenched his eyes shut. Jason outstretched his left hand and reassuringly put it on his brother's shoulder.

"It's okay Timbo, take your time."

The teen lifted his head and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. It wasn't Jason he had in front of him, it was impossible. It couldn't be the man who was controlling a whole gang, it couldn't be the man who had tried to kill him... He couldn't believe it. The "old" Jason would certainly have yelled at him already, firstly because he had woken him up at four in the morning, and secondly because he wasn't talking fast enough. Patience wasn't really Jason's thing, but right now, he proved himself to be extremely patient and comprehensive.

"There was a robbery with hostages," Tim began with a small voice, his sight shifting away from his brother, "eleven hostages in total, one of them being a little girl not older than seven years old I think." Jason snorted with anger at the mention of a child being a hostage. "Bruce and I intervened to stop it and we were doing pretty well because after not even three minutes they were all knocked out. However, their leader was still holding the little girl and he needed to find a distraction to get out of the building. So he... Shit Jason, he shot the girl's mother!" the teen said, his voice rosing significantly.

Jason looked at his young brother, "Shit... and this little girl, is she okay?"

"Yeah, he released her right after to run away. Jay, I swear that this man is going to pay for what he did!" Tim said with a determined look in his eyes, "she's a freaking orphan now!"

It's at this exact moment that the waitress came back to give them their drinks. She glanced at Tim, confused and surprised but she quickly noticed Jason's death glare in her direction. Uncomfortable, she cleared her throat and handed them their hot drinks before she left. Jason took a long sip of his coffee, savoring the warmth of it and slowly put it back on the steel table. "Listen Tim, there was absolutely nothing you could have done to avoid this."

"I should have taken the bullet instead of her."

"Yeah and you would be dead by now, idiot."

"Yeah maybe, but Alice would still have her mother!" the teen nearly yelled with anger as he slammed his fists against the table. He sighed and furiously raked his hands through his hair. "It's our job! It's our job to protect those who can't!"

"Calm down Timmy, I know it's hard, but you really need to calm down," Jason whispered as he noticed that everybody in the restaurant was staring at them. Tim sighed again, but this time it was more like a frustrated sigh.

"Jason, I'll make him pay," The teen affirmed with a determined look but also with a surprisingly calm tone.

"And I will help you to find him Tim. How does he look like?"

"He had a cowl on, so I didn't see his face very clearly. I just know that he had brown eyes and tattoos on both of his knuckles but I didn't saw what they represented... He also was slightly smaller than you and that's all I know..."

"That's not much..."

"Yeah I know..." the teen responded, "But don't you have one of your men who could match the description?" Jason took a moment to think. The man was always making sure to recruit his henchmen himself. They had to pass a few tests and then he interrogated them as to why they wanted to join his gang. But none of his men matched Tim's description.

"No, none of them." Tim lowered his head.

"This is gonna be complicated..." the teen sighed and Jason nodded slightly. But in their heads, they both swore that they would find this murderer, and they would do everything in their power to find him and make him pay. "I can start by going to the police station after class today and ask Gordon for information" he declared as he took a sip of coffee. A yawn escaped his mouth right after.

"Are you sure you can go to school today, you look like shit, Timmy," Jason laughed at him and the younger man chuckled. He looked at the clock just above the fast-food's counter and read that it was past five in the morning and he normally would have to be up at 6:30am... ' _It's again not today that I'm gonna have a full night of sleep..._ ' he thought.

"When was the last time you slept for more than two hours?" Jason asked suddenly, as if he had read the teen's mind again. Tim simply shrugged. "That's not healthy, y'know that?"

"Since when is Jason Todd speaking of healthy things, hm?" Tim smirked, earning a chuckle from his older brother.

"Don't be insolent with me, Mister Drake, you don't want to be in trouble with me, do you?" Jason asked with a smirk and a fake threatening voice as he leaned on his elbows. Tim laughed lightly and punched his brother's left forearm.

"Maybe we should get back home, it's getting pretty late..." Tim spoke after a little moment of silence between them.

"Or early, it depends of your point of view," Jason grinned and laughed when the young man in front of him yawned again.   

 

 


	7. Chapter 7 ~ An Unexpected Help

 

Tim managed to get a really short hour of sleep before he had to get up for school. He prepared himself, putting on his uniform very slowly as he started to feel once again the constant lack of sleep he was suffering from coming back to strike him once more. He counted in his head. It had been five days now that he hadn't had a complete night of sleep... He raked his hands in his hair and sighed. Swiftly, he grabbed his dark blue backpack and went downstairs. There, he was welcomed by the heartwarming smell of pancakes and bacon coming from the kitchen.

"Good morning, Master Tim," Alfred greeted him while he put a plate full of food on the table.

"Morning Alf'," the teen replied softly with a sleepy voice while he rubbed his eyes, sat on a chair and yawned for the third time since he was up.

"Don't you think it would be more reasonable to take a day off, young Master?" the old butler asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Nope, I have too much to do today," he replied while he poured some liquid dark chocolate on his pancakes. "The little Demon is still asleep or what?" he asked after a little moment as he savored the taste of Alfred's amazing pancakes.

"*Tt* I'm unfortunately awake, which means that I have to take my breakfast with _you,_ " a voice suddenly erupted from behind him, causing the teen to jump slightly on his chair as he hadn't heard the boy walking inside the room.

"I can see you're still in your legendary good mood, _Demon,_ " Tim spat.

"I don't like those stupid sarcasms of yours, Drake," Damian snapped back as he sat on the chair opposite from the teen.

"You don't like anything anyway..." Tim muttered under his breath.

"I'm not deaf, Drake," Damian replied menacingly.

"Oh geez! Don't tell me you're already fighting!" a grumpy and upset voice suddenly barged in from behind Tim, causing him to jump on his chair again.

"Can't you all just stop scaring me please?" he asked with a desperate sigh and Jason ruffled his brother's long jet black hair playfully. The teen groaned in annoyance while the other man laughed lightly. "How is that even possible that _you_ are already awake?" the teen asked when Jason walked away to take a cup of coffee.

"I have business to deal with. A gang to run, y'know, everyday stuff," he replied casually, earning a chuckle from the teen.

"So you're gonna settle down here, Todd?" Damian asked with a clearly annoyed tone.

"Just to annoy you, I'd like to say yes," the man began while he stared at the boy right in the eyes, "but I need to stay closer to the city."

"You're not going anywhere if your arm hasn't healed, Master Jason," Alfred affirmed.

"So I'm grounded?" the man quirked an eyebrow as he leaned his back against the kitchen's counter, a cup of hot coffee in his hands "I'm being kept against my own will, I should call the police."

"Do as you wish, young Master" Alfred replied with a little smirk and both Jason and Tim laughed in amusement while Damian snorted in annoyance. Jason sighed at his younger brother. 

"You really need to learn the concept of 'having fun' Damian, it's an emergency," he sighed. 

"Fuck y-"

"Language!" Alfred intervened with an angry frown while Tim tried his best not to laugh. The teen then looked up to the clock and read that it was already 7:32. It was more than time for he and Damian to leave as school started at 8. He got on his feet and headed to the car, soon followed by Alfred and Damian. The drive to school was silent, as usual. Damian had his earphones on while Tim and Alfred were sharing a comfortable silence while listening to the radio. A few minutes later, the old butler stopped the car and dropped the two young men in front of the high school's gate. Tim sighed as he yawned again. ' _This is gonna be a long day..._ '

***

As soon as he was left alone in the manor, Jason's black phone rang. The man groaned but picked up anyway. "What?" he barked aggressively.

"Boss! We caught information on an upcoming shipment for Black Mask!"

"Good, where and when?" he demanded with a calmer tone.

"We don't know when exactly yet, probably this afternoon or maybe tonight, but we're sure it'll be at the East Side's docks. Apparently there will be a lot of weapons in this shipment sir." Jason grinned broadly. It could be his little revenge... "What do we do boss?"

"Just call me if you have updates on this, I'll deal with it myself."

"Copy that boss." And with that, he hanged up, smiling widely ' _Blacky's gonna be pissed_ ' he thought as he took another sip of his coffee, grinning broadly. 

***

"Mister Drake?" a firm voice said. Tim's eyes slowly opened themselves and the teen noticed that everybody in the class was staring at him.

"Mhm?"

"Can you give us the answer since you seem so _attentive_ to what's happening." Tim grunted under his breath and glanced at the black board filled with complex equations. The teacher started to tap her foot nervously on the floor with impatience. "I'm really disappointed in y-"

"456,23 ma'am," the teen replied with a small smirk which he tried to suppress but failed at doing so. The teacher's eyes widen and laughs could be heard in the whole classroom. The teacher frowned angrily and her eyes went from the black board to Tim's direction.

"This is correct... But I absolutely don't appreciate your behavior Mister Drake, I want to see you at the end of the hour."

"Yes ma'am," Tim replied as he lowered his head. He sighed and fought again to stay awake as his eyelids were starting to get heavy once more. ' _I seriously need a full night of sleep,_ ' he thought. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He carefully hid it under his desk while he took it out and saw that it was a text from Jason.

" **Hey Timbo, RH needs RR this afternoon, East Side**." The teen groaned under his breath.

" **Not available this afternoon** " he texted back.

Half a minute later, his older brother replied back " **emergency, no discussion possible** ". Tim sighed and grumbled. He obviously had class that afternoon, like every other day. But he told himself that if Jason asked him for help it must have been really important. So he had no other choice. So at last, he accepted.

When the lunch bell finally rang, Tim discreetly left the high school. As he reached the gate, he was surprised to see that Alfred was waiting for him in Bruce's black car. He threw a confused glance at him and the old butler simply replied with his stylish British accent, "Master Jason asked me to pick you up before lunch. He is already waiting for you at your meeting point."

"I thought he had to stay at the manor," the teen replied with a smile.

"Indeed, but he told me that it is an absolute emergency and I guess that it really is because he asked you to assist him..." Tim nodded quietly and entered inside the car. He was surprised to see a large black bag on the seat just next to him on the back seats. He unzipped it and saw all his gear inside. Smiling broadly, he thanked Alfred.

They drove in silence, hearing only the engine's soft purring, until they finally reached the East Side's docks. Tim was completely geared up so Alfred took care to drop him in an empty alley, far away from any unwanted sights. "Be careful, Master Tim," Alfred said worriedly while the teen left the car. He gave a curt nod before he drew out his grappling gun and managed to get on top of the tallest rooftop from the area. He observed the place, looking for Jason. After ten good minutes, he finally found him, crouched on top of a gargoyle, looking through his binoculars with a red domino mask on as his crimson helmet was laid just next to him. Without waiting any longer, he quickly joined his brother's side.

"What do you need me for, Hood?" Red Robin asked while he landed silently behind the man's back and walked towards him.

"You're gonna give me a hand" he replied without looking away from his binoculars, scanning the dock's direction "my men caught information on a huge shipment which will be delivered here. And I'm obviously gonna steal it."

"Who is it addressed to?"

"Black Mask." Red Robin sighed and Red Hood turned his head in his direction. He raised an eyebrow under his domino mask, waiting for the other man to say something.

"You called me for this? Damn, are you aware that I skipped class?!" the younger man said clearly annoyed and irritated.

"Yes, I'm not in a good enough shape to fight properly if it's needed," the other man replied dryly.

Red Robin huffed, "When is this shipment supposed to arrive?"

"I dunno, either this afternoon or tonight. Red?"

"Mhm?"

The older man turned again to face his brother and asked with a concerned tone, "How are you doing today?"

"I'm fine... I guess," he replied nearly emotionlessly but not without looking away.

"Don't lie to me, you're not fine at all man."

"We'll speak of it later," Red Robin replied as he pointed towards the sea, "There's a boat coming". Red Hood turned his head in the direction his younger brother was pointing at and grinned broadly.

"Ready for some action, Red?" he asked with a broad smile and the young man gave a simple nod. "Alright, I want this _dear_ Black Mask to know that it's me who stole the whole shipment BUT, we need to be careful because nobody has to see _you_. I'm supposed to protect all my men from Batman and all his allies so if anyone sees me in your company, this is gonna be complicated, got it?"

"Wait, what am I supposed to do then?" Red Robin asked as he crossed his arms over his chest

"Back-up." Red Robin sighed deeply and was about to retort when Red Hood pointed towards a warehouse's direction. "Look, someone else is coming." He then handed the younger man his binoculars and the teen teared them from his hands. He indeed saw that a large white truck was being parked inside a large warehouse owned by no one else than Black Mask. Five men came out of it and three others jumped out of the truck.

"Looks like they are waiting for you to show up, look at how nervous they are," Red Robin stated as he saw three sentries keeping the building's entrance, looking frantically in every directions, their hands clasped on their AK-47's triggers. Red Hood was wearing a large grin of satisfaction.

"They won't be disappointed," he declared cockily while he rose on his feet.

"Don't you think it's a bit strange that there are only eight persons? I mean, if it's a shipment, there's gonna be supplies and weapons in the crates right?"

"True... but there's also gonna be those on the boat so there will be, let's say fourteen goons in total. Nothing we can't handle right?" he replied with a smirk.

Approximately twenty minutes later, the boat had finally docked. It had heavy wooden crates on it and Black Mask's thugs were immediately busy unloading them. Silently, Red Robin counted four men on the deck, four others unloading and two inside the boat's cabin. He immediately started to establish a plan, but he suddenly saw Jason putting his helmet on. "Follow me," he declared and jumped out of the roof.

"Aw come on!" the teen sighed desperately and with that, he jumped too.

***

Without a noise, Red Hood dived just behind a pile of crates, still far from where Black Mask's henchmen were. He knew it could be his little revenge, but even though he told no one because his pride wouldn't allow him to do so, his right arm was still making him suffer. He had carefully wrapped up his wound in a large bandage and took painkillers before he left the manor but the drug's effect wasn't efficient enough...

"Hood? What's the plan?" Red Robin's voice suddenly erupted in his helmet's comm link, "If you have any plan..."

"No sarcasm Red. Alright, you find a way to get inside the warehouse without being noticed and I'll join you there."

"That's not really what I call a plan."

"Oh my god, do whatever you want. They just don't have to see you with me!" the man suddenly whispered rather loudly in annoyance. Red Robin sighed deeply but didn't replied back, even though he _really_ wanted to do it...

Red Hood silently moved from behind the pile of crate  to reach one of the boat's sides. Once there, he carefully approached near one of the window which was opened and heard a conversation between the two thugs who were still inside the cabin. "I really hope the boss knows what he's doin'. Otherwise we're all fucked."

"Yeah. Have you heard about the missile he launched to destroy one of Hood's warehouses? Mike told me about it yesterday... Apparently the bastard survived..."

"Shit, he must be pissed." 

' _Oh you have no idea_ ' Jason thought under his helmet. After this, the man moved silently from where he was to hide behind a huge blue container located just next to the warehouse. He knew he could enter by the warehouse's entrance but there were sentries there and he still wanted to keep the surprise effect. So he looked around him and saw a fire exit door at the back of the building. He reached it and grabbed the door knob. "Please be open, please be open". He pushed it and, with a little clicking sound, the large metallic door opened itself. The man sneaked inside the building and carefully closed the door behind him. Hid into the building's darkness, he saw two thugs loading a crate inside the truck, complaining that the thing was too heavy. 

Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a black form just above him moving quickly and noiselessly on the catwalks. He caught a glimpse of red and assumed it was just his little brother. As if to confirm his thoughts, Red Robin murmured in the comm link "So, now that we are both inside, what's next?"

"Don't move for the moment" the older man whispered as he walked out of his hideout and cleared his throat behind the two thugs' backs. "It seems pretty heavy, need a hand with it?" he asked cockily. Startled, the two men dropped the crate. It opened itself and revealed a huge arsenal of weapons and explosives. Tim, from where he was, mentally facepalmed for the thugs stupidity. The both of them drew out their pistols and pointed them in Red Hood's direction.

Hood didn't moved, grinning widely under his helmet. One of the thugs lunged forward, quickly followed by the second. Red Hood dodged easily their attacks, but one of the men somehow managed to punch him behind the knee. The man recovered quickly and spun to kick violently one of them in the outer thighs. He rose back on his feet and kneed the man in the face, knocking him out instantly.

The second man hesitated for a short instant so Red Hood took the advantage of it and lunged forward. He punched the man right in the ribs, blocking his breathing. But as he was about to punch him a second time, the thug blocked Hood's fist, kicked him in the side and violently sent him flying in a pile of small crates which exploded under his weight and the impact.

"Still wanna play it solo?" Red Robin asked through the com link and Hood clearly heard the smirk in the young man's voice.

"Shut up," he growled back as he rose to his feet and dodged to avoid another punch from the thug. The man quickly reached for his own com link.

"Red Hood's inside the warehouse!"

"Oh shit..." he muttered as he saw ten more men coming inside the building, their guns pointed in his direction. "Now!" he shouted  and suddenly, the whole place was engulfed in a thick grey cloud of smoke. All the thugs started to cough violently but both Red Hood and Red Robin had a rebreather. 

They both jumped into action, taking advantage of the partial blindness the thugs were suffering from. Red Hood had a violent and aggressive way of fighting, quick and lethal, while Red Robin had a more on-the-fly style of fighting, gained thanks to his training with Dick. However, they were both really efficient.

Red Robin took great care at staying hidden into the cloud of smoke to avoid being spotted by anyone. Helped by his bo staff, he knocked out three thugs in only one move. From the other side of the room, Red Hood punched violently a man right in the jaw, knocking him out instantly. Occasionally, he used his guns. However when he was getting ready back in the batcave, he forced himself to take rubber bullets instead of real bullets, those weren't lethal but as efficient as live ammo. Indeed, he knew Tim (even though he would never admit it) was still shocked from what had happened the previous night so he made the effort to avoid any killing in front of his younger brother.

Once that the cloud of smoke had vanished, all the thugs were knocked out. "Alright, let's get to work Red," Hood declared as he dropped a man he was holding by the collar of his shirt, passed out too. He headed towards the truck and gestured for Red Robin to help him to finish loading all the crates. All of the crates were heavy and Red Hood gasped as the pain in his right arm woke up again.

"You alright?" Red Robin asked while he frowned under his mask. 

"Yeah, don't worry," he muttered coldly, "we need to be faster though. I bet this asshole of Black Mask already sent more men to get me."

"There's gonna be another gang war right?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure as hell that he's gonna be _really_ pissed."

"Aw man..." Red Robin whispered in an almost desperate tone and Red Hood gave him a playful pat on the shoulder. A few minutes later, they had finished loading the crates inside the truck. "Uh, Hood?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not gonna drive this truck until I don't know which warehouse you own just by yourself, right?" the younger man asked concerned "because he's gonna send men after you, y'know that?"

The older man thought for a second, "Yeah that's right...What if, while I drive, you watch from a rooftop and tell me whenever you see something suspicious? That could be a good idea."

"Indeed, but imagine he sends an army of his thugs, the both of us isn't gonna be enough... Call your own men to join you here, that would be a great idea. Once they would be here, I'd hide on the catwalks like I did earlier, it's really dark up there. I'll follow you from above the rooftops. I can also call Bat-"

"No! Don't call him! I don't need his help," the older man nearly shouted with a sudden angry tone, startling his brother by the same occasion as the latter wasn't expecting this sudden outburst.

"Alright calm down! Geez, there's no need to shout man!" he retorted and the other man turned away.

"Sorry," he replied coldly and moved to reach the front of the truck. He took his phone out of his pocket but as he was dialing, he felt something was wrong. Next to the cabin, Red Robin tensed and a loud laughter could be heard.

"Oh my, look who we have here!" an amused voice suddenly erupted and some laughter could be heard behind it.

A little "oh crap..." escaped from Red Robin's mouth as he put himself into a defensive stance. 

Red Hood lifted his head and gulped. Just at the warehouse's entrance, around thirty, maybe forty, men were standing, obviously heavily armed and wearing one of Black Mask's typical mask for his thugs except for one, the one who had spoken. He was huge, bulky and had a large scar running from his left eyebrow to the bottom of the same side's cheek. A mischievous grin was running on his lips and he was holding a minigun in his hands.

Still inside the truck's cabin, Red Hood, as discreetly as possible, looked everywhere to find a heavy weapon, but it was in vain, there was nothing. 

"So you work with the red birdie now?" the bulky man mocked as he and the men behind him approached menacingly from them. Red Robin tightened his grip against his stick and gritted his teeth, putting himself into a fighting position. "It would be a shame if we break him too," he laughed hysterically, followed by his men.

"Nothing we can't handle right?" Red Robin whispered sarcastically, imitating what Hood had told him earlier but he obviously had a touch of anger in his sayings. Red Hood sighed. Under his helmet, Jason tried his best to establish an escape plan, but the whole building was surrounded and who knew if there wasn't more thugs outside... So he slowly climbed down the truck's cabin and stood beside his younger brother, putting himself slightly forward to defend him. 

"The boss told us you would be there. He didn't mentioned there would be a little surprise comin' with ya," the scarred man laughed again, pointing at Red Robin.

"So the two of us against forty? Seems unfair for you," Red Hood mocked cockily. The scarred man grunted and brought his minigun to life. Bullets flew everywhere in the warehouse, sometimes they even bounced against the walls. As soon as the shooting started, Hood pushed Red Robin aside, protecting him as best he could against the bullets.

"Kill the bird! Hood's mine!" he shouted angrily and right after, another shootingstarted. Red Hood jumped to his feet and lunged forward to his principal target: the scarred man. The man aimed at him with his minigun so Hood quickly dived behind a near  low wall. On his side, Red Robin was attacking a group of five men on his own, struggling as he realized those weren't as untrained as those they had fought before. One could say that they were even highly trained... 

They had been trapped.

"We're not cocky anymore now, are we?" the scarred man called as he threw his minigun away. Red Hood grunted from behind his 'shelter'. He didn't moved for a little instant, waiting for the monstrous man to come closer. As the man reached exactly the place Hood wanted, he rose to his feet, jumped above the low wall and violently tackled the man to the ground. He crouched above him and started kicking him. The scarred man brought his knees to his chin and threw away Red Hood by outstretching his legs. Hood landed violently on the back. He grunted as he felt once again a jolt of pain coming from his right arm.

Red Robin had already knocked out four men but every punch he delivered was making him even more tired and the young man started to feel once again the lack of sleep striking him. The other thugs were skilled, highly trained and fully prepared to face Red Robin and Red Hood. They were all armed to the teeth with an arsenal composed of daggers, handguns, mini-bombs...

Every punch was weakening him and the young man quickly found himself surrounded. He threw a smoke bomb to the ground, allowing him to knock out two more men with his bare hands and three with his staff, but it wasn't enough to win against all of them.

Red Hood, from the other side of the building, was still busy with the scarred man. "This all ends here for ya Hood!" he laughed again manically, "And just wait for your men to know they have been fooled and that you were working since the beginning with one of the Bats' ally! They'll spit on your dead body!" he cackled.

"Don't you ever shut up?!" the helmeted man angrily replied as he kicked the man right in the side, breaking two of his ribs in the process. The man groaned as he backed away. Jason smirked under his helmet. He remembered all the training he had received while he was with the League of Assassins. He stroke, reaching for lethal places to hit. 

His fist collided roughly with the man's jaw. Half knocked out, the scarred man struggled to keep his balance. He desperately took a combat knife out of his pocket, swinging it in every directions because he couldn't see anything as his vision blurred. Red Hood aimed to shoot him, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the knife's sharp blade, so sharp that it went through his armor's material and made a deep cut on Hood's left side. Jason gasped but threw himself on the man anyway, blocking the fist which was holding the knife and pushed it as strongly as he could to force the man to drop it. Nevertheless, the scarred man struggled and tightened his grip even more. He pointed the knife toward Red Hood's neck, but he was still pushing against it.

The atmosphere around the two men was heavy with tension. Hood fighting to thrust the blade in the man's neck while the other was struggling to keep it away from him. But the blade was slipping closer and closer to his neck. Hood put all his strength toward his arms. He had to endure the pain coming from his right arm as he forced himself to ignore it. However, the cutting on his side was now bleeding a lot. He was growing weaker and weaker with every seconds which passed and from the corner of his eyes, he saw that Red Robin was in a really bad shape too.

Suddenly, he felt his opponent's force slowly slackening away. He was getting weaker so Jason knew it was his opportunity to strike. Hearing a rough punch colliding with his little brother's jaw, he gathered the few strength remaining to him and, out of pure anger, pushed the blade down. The scarred man eyes widened as the blade ran its course to its direction: his own neck.

"No one is allowed to threaten my little brother," he hissed in a whisper as he leaned closer to the man. And then, he shoved the blade into his neck. Red Hood saw the fear in his victim's eyes and heard his gurgling as he thrust the blade even deeper. He watched as the light went out from his eyes. He released his grip on the blade's hilt and the man fell roughly on the ground.

Breathless and weakly, he turned himself and saw Red Robin surrounded by at least twenty men and at least fifteen were knocked out cold at his feet. The young man was struggling, he knew that fighting against a whole group on his own was dangerous but he had no other choice, the thugs were attacking him and only him. So he gathered all the force he had and strove to continue to fight. Red Hood joined his side and punched as hard as he could the remaining thugs who were all grinning broadly. They all knew the two men were now feeble...

But all of a sudden, gunshots echoed in the building and in a matter of seconds, all the men fell cold on the floor, a bullet lodged precisely in their heads. Dumbfounded, Red Hood and Red Robin both looked in the direction were the gunshots were coming from and they saw a single man standing at the warehouse's entrance, a simple pistol in his hand. 

Tim and Jason exchanged a confused look before they looked back to the man. He was approaching them and Red Hood put himself in a defensive stance by pure instinct, standing just in front of his little brother. "I didn't just saved your asses to attack you right after," the young man declared casually as he looked around the whole building. 

"Thank you," Red Robin said with a weak voice, holding his painful jaw. In fact, all his body was sore, as well as all of Hood's...

"I know you," Red Hood frowned as he pressed his left hand against his side, trying desperately to stop the hemorrhage.

"Yeah indeed, you spared my sorry ass yesterday."

"You are one of Black Mask's thugs. Why have you protected us?"

"I _was_ one of Black Mask's thugs. I left yesterday when this asshole started beating me up because the mission half failed."

"Half?"

"We were supposed to kill you and the missile was the last option." Red Robin frowned, Black Mask was really getting desperate to eliminate Red Hood and who knew what would be his next action against him...

"You're young kid," Red Hood declared as he started to relax a little bit, even though he was still ready to jump into action if it was needed to, "Get back to your family, go to high school or find a job I don't care, but don't waste your life on this path."

"I have nowhere to go, nothing to fight for. I'm on my own and this is the path I want to follow."

"You're an orphan?" Red Robin asked out of curiosity and the man nodded.

"Not really, but it's complicated."

"So what do you want?" Hood growled.

"To join your ranks, nothing more, nothing less" he affirmed. The older man fought for a minute. If he took him in, he could gather important information on how Black Mask was working and even more information on where all of his strategic points were.

"What's your name?" he asked coldly.

"Kyle Barnes"

"Well Kyle, welcome to my gang."


	8. Chapter 8 ~ Stitches

"Hood you're bleeding," Red Robin stated with a weak voice while he held his own jaw. Indeed, he had received a violent uppercut from one of the thugs and it appeared that the man was wearing a brass knuckles of some sorts under his gauntlet. Tim was lucky he didn't get his jaw dislocated under the impact, but it was severely injured nonetheless. 

Hood lowered his head and his eyes widened under his helmet as he saw how much his wound was bleeding even though he had applied pressure on it to stop the bleeding partially. "Yeah, I need to stitch it," he growled as he started to walk away. He took his phone out of his pocket and called one of his lieutenants. 

He asked him to send some of his henchmen to come to the warehouse and pick up the truck which was full with the crates to bring it to one of his own warehouses. Then he turned again towards Red Robin and Kyle. He grabbed the latter by the collar and declared menacingly "Tell anyone in the gang that Red Robin was here today and I'll personally take care of you Barnes, understood?" The young man nodded and Hood caught a satisfying glimpse of fear in Kyle's emerald green eyes.

Hood's lieutenant arrived ten minutes later, followed by a group of his henchmen. Red Robin had managed to grapple his way up to the highest catwalks of the building and was hiding in the darkness of the place. Soon, the group of thugs grew even more as some other came to help too, driving black bulletproof SUV. Those were brought here to protect the truck in case Black Mask would desperately try to get it back as there was a little fortune in it.

As soon as the convoy left the hangar, Red Robin hopped down again and landed next to Red Hood (who had pretended he still had business to deal with and that's why he couldn't join his men to celebrate their successful taking). "You need stitches," the younger man stated once again.

"I have a safe house a few blocks away from here, we can go there." The teen nodded and they both left the place. They swung between the buildings before they finally reached Hood's place. They took the fire escape ladder to be more discreet and sneaked inside the apartment via an unlocked window. 

Once inside, Jason took off his helmet and threw it away in the living room. He headed to the bathroom to get his first aid kit and sat on the floor as he took his armor off. "Be my guest Tim," he told the teen while he peeled off his black domino mask, "Mi casa es tu casa".

"Can I take a shower?"

"Sure, just borrow some of my clothes." Tim nodded and went to Jason's bedroom. He searched inside the older man's closet and picked up a large blue hoodie and a black sweatpants which was the only thing he could adjust the way too large size to his own.

While Tim was taking a shower, Jason tried his best to stitch up his wound, but the result was rather awful... At last, the man got frustrated and started cursing loudly. 

"Are you okay?" Tim asked as he rushed out of the bathroom as soon as he heard Jason, water dripping from his wet hair and wearing Jason's clothes he had borrowed. He saw the bloodied compresses all over the floor and understood immediately. "You don't know how to do proper stitches do you?" he asked with a smile and Jason grumbled in response. "Luckily for you, I do." He approached near his brother and sat beside him on the floor.

"Have you sterilized everything?"

"Yeah, I'mnot as bad as that..." Jason snapped as he rolled his eyes and Tim gave him a playful punch on the shoulder while laughing. He then took a look at the wound and snickered when he saw how bad Jason's stitches were. He removed all the stitches and redo them again, his nimble fingers working precisely to close the wound as properly as possible. Alfred had taught him everything he knew about surgery and he was so good at it that even Dick sometimes asked him to stitch him up. Once done, he cleaned Jason's wound carefully with some Betadine.

"And here we are," he declared proudly. Jason looked at his wound and was quite impressed by how cleanly his little brother had worked.

"Thank you," he said as he got back on his feet, gave a pat on the younger man's back and headed to his closet to grab a t-shirt. As he watched him leaving the living room, Tim shivered when he saw the large scars running all over Jason's bare back. Of course the Lazarus pit had helped diminishing some of them, but three were still clearly visible. Especially one running from his right shoulder to the left part of his spine. All of them had scars, but Jason's were by far the most impressive.

"Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Jason stared at his brother with a furrowed brow as he put on a black and red t-shirt "Er... What for?"

"Last night, you came for me because I needed you. So, thank you."

"That's normal man," he replied softly and Tim smiled lightly. "Are you hungry?" the younger man nodded and Jason laughed. He headed to the kitchen and opened the different cupboards to search for food. During this time, Tim turned on the small TV and flopped down on the old couch.

* _Red Hood and his gang took hold of a warehouse in the East Side's docks this afternoon. More than forty men have been killed in this attack. We don't know yet who the warehouse's owner was but there will be for sure an aftermath. The GCPD is already warning the citizens of our city for an eventual upcoming gang war-_ *

"It's not an 'eventual' gang war, it's sure that there's gonna be one, _dumbass,_ " Jason growled from the kitchen.

"And are you ready for it?" Tim asked as he turned his head in Jason's direction.

"Now yes, Black Mask's supply is gonna be a good asset." He laid down an old metal can on top of the counter "Uh... you have the choice between rotten eggs, expired beans, stale biscuits or uh nothing," he laughed, soon followed by the other man. "I haven't been in this safehouse for a while..."

"Hmm, I'll go for a pizza."

"Good idea."

And they spent the whole evening together, eating pizzas and watching a dumb show airing on TV which made them laugh heartily. To make it simple, they were basically enjoying each other's company. They also spoke together about various serious but also funny subjects until Tim passed out on the couch, completely exhausted. 

Jason carefully covered his little brother's shoulders with a blanket to avoid him catching a cold and flopped down on his own bed where it took him not even five minute to fall asleep, and without noticing it, he had a wide smile running all across his lips...

The next morning, Tim was the first one to wake up. He stretched slowly and winced as he felt a jolt of pain coming from his jaw even though he had carefully put on a pack of ice on it during the whole previous evening. Then he realized he had gotten a full night of sleep and started to panic when he looked at the clock which read 11am. He was, indeed, extremely late for school. The young man searched everywhere for his phone, knowing he had once again forgot to remove the silent mode, until he finally found it in the bathroom laid next to his Red Robin suit on the counter and he nearly had a heart attack when he turned it on. 

7 missed calls from Bruce and 12 from Dick....

"Oh crap..." he whispered, panicked. He raked his hands in his hair and headed to Jason's bedroom where he shook the man until he woke up. 

"Ugh, what?" he growled with a hoarse voice, his head buried in his pillow.

"Jason I uh... have forgotten to tell Bruce I was with you yesterday... and I'm also super late for school."

"Oh goddammit..." he grunted and pushed himself out of his bed. "Well first of all, just call him and tell him that you're okay, it's pretty obvious."

"Already done."

"Fantastic..." he sighed ironically, "I'm gonna drop you at the manor so you can put on your school uniform. But first, coffee."

Tim nudged his older brother, "I'm late! No time for coffee man!"

"Hey it's not my fault alright?! Ugh okay, gather all your stuff, we leave in five minutes." The teen nodded and packed all his belongings in a small backpack Jason had given him. To get back to the manor, they used Jason's red racing motorcycle, driving at full speed through the streets and the highway until they finally reached their destination.

Alfred was already waiting for them just under the massive entry door's frame and with, as always, an unreadable expression on his face. As soon as he had heard the motorcycle's engine arriving in front of the manor, Dick had joined Alfred's sides, but his expression was completely readable. It was a mix of anger and relief. His jaw was clenched and his arms were crossed over his chest.

Tim climbed down from the motorcycle and thanked Jason once again. "Good luck man," Jason smirked and Tim grimaced at him.

"You could, at least, stay with me, it's because of you that this is happening."

"Ugh fine, but don't count on me to talk with the old man," he replied grumpily and with that being said, he climbed down from his motorcycle as well and pulled off his helmet. Tim was walking in front of his older brother and passed by Alfred and Dick who was flashing him an angry glare. But when it was Jason's turn to walk past them, Dick violently slammed him against the door frame.

"Do you realize how worried we all were?! You could have, _at least_ , called to tell us he was with you!" he yelled angrily. Alfred interposed himself in between the two men as he saw that Jason had clenched his fists, a sign that he was readying himself to deliver a blow.

"We forgot okay?! He's fine, no need to make a big deal about it!"

"We searched in the whole city during the whole night Jason!" the older man replied even more angrily, "We thought something bad had happened because you weren't responding either!"

"Oh you were worried about me too, oh that's too kind Dick!" Jason snapped sarcastically, moving his hands in a dramatic manner and Dick's jaw clenched once again. They were about to jump at each other's throat when Alfred interposed himself again between the both of them, putting his hands on their chests to force them to keep a 'safety distance' between each other and if it hadn't been for the old man, they would already be engaged in a fight.

"Boys!" a firm voice suddenly intervened. Jason grunted loudly. He turned his head and saw Bruce coming. Dick sighed loudly and moved away to stand next to the older man, his arms crossed over his chest and glaring angrily at Jason. Tim was standing beside Jason, his head low. Bruce walked in his direction and softly took his chin with one hand, observing the impressive dark blue and purple bruise and after a long moment of silence, he finally asked "What happened?"

"I got punched, but it's nothing, really."

"Put some ice on it," he replied with a surprisingly soft voice. The teen nodded and headed to the kitchen followed by Alfred, leaving Jason, Dick and Bruce on their own. "Jason, I'd like to talk to you," the man said firmly and started to walk away to reach the study. Dick was about to follow. "Alone." Dick nodded and headed to the kitchen to stay with Alfred.

"Sit down," the tall man ordered his son and Jason reluctantly did as he was told, not without a scowl. Bruce walked away to close the door and clasped his hands behind his back. A heavy silence fell in the room, but Bruce was the first one to speak. "Listen, I know you're trying to make good in Gotham, and I won't deny it, it works, but-"

"'But please stay away from Tim because you're a _bad guy'_ , yeah I know," Jason interrupted him, nearly shouting and putting an emphasis on the 'bad guy'.

"That's not what I said," Bruce answered dryly, "Even if I completely disagree with your methods, I'm not considering you as a bad guy Jason."

"Wonderful," the younger man muttered.

"I know you're angry at me Jason, and you have all the reasons to be, but this is not the point of this discussion. I noticed that you're trying to get closer to your brothers lately and I'm quite glad about this. However, I'm just asking you to not involve Tim or Damian in your gang business. If you want to ask Dick, just do it, he is an adult he is free to make his own decisions, but not them."

Jason lowered slightly his head, "I really needed him yesterday. And, by the way, he doesn't feel well Bruce. We spoke together for a long time yesterday evening when we were back at my place. He _really_ needs help."

"What do you mean?"

Jason froze. His eyes went wide and he felt his fists clenching under the large wooden desk, "The kid's depressed Bruce! Are you really that blind?! Or do you just don't give a shit about him either?!"

Bruce's expression changed immediately into a mix of pain, anger and confusion. Jason rose on his feet and stormed out of the room, smashing the door open before he headed to the Batcave. He walked past Dick and shot him a death glare. The older man wanted to say something, but he gave up when he saw Jason's furious expression.

Jason needed something to hit. He needed to let his rage out. That's why he started punching the batcave's punching bag. Not even bothering to put on straps to protect his hands, he started to deliver violent blows. His blood was boiling in his veins and each punch was getting him even angrier.

Then he heard a voice coming from behind him, but he decided to ignore it and his punches were even more violent.

"Jason!"

He knew who it was. However he didn't wanted to have a discussion with anyone at the moment. "Jason!"

"What?!" the man shouted, stopping suddenly his blows. He turned around and saw his big brother standing a few meters away from him, his arms crossed over his chest. Dick approached but the man shot him a menacing glare.

"Just look at your hands you idiot!" Dick snapped angrily. Jason lowered his head and saw his bloodied knuckles. Focusing on his hand also brought back to life the pain in his right arm. 

"Shit," he muttered as he walked away, Dick following him. "Are you gonna track my every moves?"

"You're an idiot, Jason Todd"

"You already told me that, Dick Grayson."

Dick sighed and nervously raked his hands in his hair, "I overheard what you told Bruce about Tim..."

"That he doesn't give a shit about h-"

"No, not that part!" Dick interrupted but he continued with a calmer tone, "The part where you told him he isn't going well..." Jason raised an eyebrow, "...And you're absolutely right."

"We need to do something for him, Dick."

"I know, but what?" the older man sighed deeply as he sat on a chair near the computer.

"I don't know... But what he told me yesterday was... Damn he went through hell and he keeps pretending everything is fine! He puts himself in danger."

"Yeah... I thought that joining the Titans would make him feel better, I asked Conner to keep an eye on him, but nothing changed. He hides his feelings even more because otherwise I think that would make us think he is weak even though it's absolutely not the case."

"And Demon Spawn would take advantage of it."

"Exactly..."

"But it's not the others' help that he requires, it's ours," Jason added firmly, looking at Dick right in the eyes and the man nodded evenly. "We're all fucked up aren't we?" he added with a laugh and Dick sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

 

 

 

 


End file.
